Quick Tips for Hiring Managers in Recruiting Top Talent

The war for talent is heating up again. Today’s tips are geared to show hiring executives some ideas that, through proper planning, will positively impact their success at hiring the best candidates. Hiring managers need to understand that, in most cases, top performing candidates need to be sold on your opportunity and your firm. Not all candidates should be treated in the same way. Some recruits, especially those who are directly recruited (as opposed to being selected from social media or job boards), passive job searchers, will not respond well to being grilled over why they are looking to leave their current company. The best performers usually have multiple job options available to them and they present a harder sell for the hiring manager.

It’s important to understand that top performing recruits will only leave their current position if they believe the future will be better with the new firm. Hiring managers need to comprise an appropriate written presentation on paper and then practice delivering that information using a recording/playback device. A few dry runs later, you should be ready to go with a finely-tuned presentation that shows the candidate you care enough about hiring people to be organized and you are a good planner.

– your firms historical background and where the firm is heading over the next 5 years
– your firm strengths, and keys to success in their marketplace
– any weaknesses of the firm and its product and/or services (especially if they are known in the marketplace) and what the firm is doing to address those weaknesses
– the opportunity at hand the challenges that it brings, collaboration requirements and travel expectations etc.
– optimistically explain potential career path alternatives
– if the candidate will report directly to the hiring manager, he or she might explain their management style and their interest in mentoring and developing their staff.
– the advantages of working at your firm including any perks (such as casual Friday, fitness programs, lunch programs, etc.) corporate culture issues, work-from-home opportunities, orientation procedures and why people enjoy working there.
– when the time is right, full compensation details should be shared. If the compensation plan involves areas of uncertainty, such as commissions, the hiring manager should be prepared to explain how other people in that role have done in the past or are doing at present. (e.g. 4 of the 5 reps we had last year surpassed their quota and their target income was $xxxxxx ) Benefits should also be covered.

Once your presentation is complete, inquire with the candidate any concerns or questions they may have as a result of the information you have shared. If you are you working with a third-party recruiter, prior to the interview, ask if they are aware of any “career wounds” that they have discovered with the recruit’s current employer and see if you can use that to your advantage.

If you are working with a third-party recruiter, be sure to provide interview feedback to your recruiter as soon after the interview as possible. Interview feedback allows the sharing of more detailed level of requirements that may not have originally been discussed. If the candidate is not a fit, this feedback provides the recruiter with the ability to reload and aim more accurately for future candidate presentations.

Recruiting managers only get out of a search what they are willing put into it. With a small amount of planning & preparation, you CAN greatly enhance your results.